New York hedge fund shorts Royal Mail owner

A New York hedge fund has emerged with a short position in the owner of Royal Mail amid a £3.6 billion overseas takeover offer for the postal services group.

Sessa Capital appeared with a 0.73 per cent position in International Distribution Services on Friday, regulatory filings show, two days after IDS’s board recommended a firm offer from EP Group, the conglomerate controlled by Daniel Kretinsky, IDS’s billionaire Czech shareholder.

The short position was then increased to 0.83 per cent on Tuesday. One City analyst said it was a “bold move” and “intriguing” timing.

The analyst, speaking confidentially, said: “Sessa obviously thinks the bid is going to fail. That’s got to be their motivation.”

They added: “There are only two mechanical ways it fails — it